Angelina’s Fireshack & Pizzeria is aiming to create a culinary sea change for palettes of adventurous diners in New Hyde Park.
That’s what Angelina’s co-owner Shai Eapen said about his objectives for the eatery that is holding grand opening festivities on June 18 in its corner location on 1300 Jericho Turnpike.
“We’re not a pizza place. We’re in the business of taking the ordinary and making it extraordinary,” Eapen said, adding that he is aiming “to create a foodie revolution right here in New Hyde Park.”
A glance around Angelina’s with its spare decor, featuring square black tables and beige-and-black square chairs immediately suggests that this is not your grandfather’s pizzeria – although there is a grandfather’s pie on the menu, among some fascinating variations on the theme. There’s “Wowee Maui”, with mozzarella, ham, pepperoni, pineapple and applewood smoked bacon and “Mr. Kotter”, with pastrami. swiss cheese and russian dressing – and lots of mozzarella.
“We’re Americanized pizza. We’re not a conveyor belt,” Eapen said.
That’s apparent even with the restaurant’s grandma pizza, a traditional thin-crust pie made with fresh peeled tomatoes, mozzarella – plenty of black pepper.
But where Angelina’s Fireshack has apparently made its biggest mark is with its chicken wings, ranging from mild to “ridiculously hot.” The hot spot sells an average of 50 pounds of wings daily, and sold 170 pounds on one recent weekend, according to Eapen, who opened the restaurant in late April with partner and executive chef Arte Martin, formerly sous chef at both the Inn at New Hyde Park and Westbury Manor.
Martin has concocted an eclectic mix of burgers as well, including the AK-47 (a burger on a knish) and Towering Inferno (with “grilled and stacked” jalapeno peppers and cherry peppers.
The restaurant also ventures into the exotic, with dishes featuring alligator, elk and wild boar.
“We’re unique. We don’t have competition. There’s no one willing to take the risk that we take,” said Eapen, who worked in the legal field before getting into the restaurant business.
Angelina’s is aiming to draw an upscale demographic – households of $100,000 income – and Eapen said 75 percent of its customers are 19 to 45 years old. And so far, he said, 60 percent of its business are return customers.
Eapen said he took inspiration for staging his gastronomic cuisine insurrection from following “foodie revolution” trends on shows such as Man vs. Food” on the Food Network.
So prospective diners should be forewarned about the hot stuff – Eapen said the restaurant requires a signed waiver for dishes with its ultra-hot “ghost peppers” – and aware of the challenges they are presented with at the concept restaurant.
There’s the “triage” challenge, 20 minutes to eat 18 of what Eapen calls the “hottest wings on the planet” with a prize of a winner’s apron and picture on Angelina’s Wall of Fame. And here’s another: two men have 52 minutes to eat four 20-inch pizza pies weighing at 12 pounds.
For anyone game enough, Chef Martin is ready to bring the heat.
“I’m the madman,” he said.
Eleuterio Maldonado Santos, who formerly worked at Umberto’s Restaurant and Pizzeria, is Angelina’s pizza guru.
The grand opening on Saturday features an 11 a.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony followed by good tasting and face painting and games for kids in the restaurant’s parking lot. A portion of the proceeds from its official opening day will be donated to charity, Eapen said.
“We’re serious about what we’re doing. The food revolution is starting and will be televised,” Eapen said.
It’s also online, where customers can place orders for Angelina’s entrees online at www.grubhub.com/nyc/angelinas-fire-shack–pizzeria.
